Can We Get Ready for a Future that is Already Here?

Fr. Allan Figaroa Deck, Director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church for the USCCB, has just posted a great summary of the issues regarding multicultural competencies for parish leaders on his blog.  He points to the needs of churches that are receiving an influx of people from other cultures and the need for certain skills for leaders in those churches, especially those pertaining to empathy and communication.

The multicultural Church is already among us. How fast can we get ready to deal with it, when we should have done that "yesterday"?  The challenge is to get in front of the misunderstandings and deal with the current reality that in many parishes, we are already facing culture clashes and division, even as we seek unity.  In our diocese, for the past two years, a small group of leaders from parishes with Hispanics has been meeting for sharing and dialog. This group, the Spanish Catechesis Support Cluster, has been engaged, faithful and grateful for the opportunities to raise the issues for discussion.  We may struggle in our parishes, but we can come together and share and encourage one another. It's a start.